WR DeAndre Hopkins Open To Re-Signing With Ravens
DeAndre Hopkins joined the Ravens in free agency last offseason by inking a one-year deal. The decorated wideout now faces an uncertain future, although he would welcome a second Baltimore campaign. 
“The reality of it, having a new offensive coordinator, being an older guy, I know football and I know how the business side works,” Hopkins said during an appearance on the Up & Adams show (video link). “I would love to come back, but not every offensive coordinator is wanting a veteran receiver on their team. Some guys have different dynamics of how they go about coaching. It’s nothing personal.”
The Ravens are in the midst of widespread coaching changes. The arrival of Jesse Minter as a first-time head coach, coupled with efforts by John Harbaugh‘s Giants and Todd Monken‘s Browns to recruit Baltimore staffers, has created a number of vacancies. One of those was filled yesterday with the team agreeing to hire Declan Doyle as offensive coordinator. It will be interesting to see if Doyle supports the idea of a new Hopkins deal.
In 2025, Hopkins got off to a strong start with 99 yards and a pair of touchdowns across his first two games. Despite remaining healthy through the remainder of the campaign, however, the five-time Pro Bowler totaled just 330 yards on 22 catches; he did not add any more scores along the way. That production is comfortably the lowest of Hopkins’ 13-year career, and it will no doubt lead to another modest free agent pact. He joined the Ravens on a $5MM deal last spring.
Baltimore’s receiver depth chart is set to be topped once again by Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman in 2026. Flowers is coming off his second consecutive 1,000-yard campaign, and the two-time Pro Bowler is eligible for an extension this spring. Bateman, meanwhile, is on the books through 2029. Retaining Hopkins would once again consign him to a depth role, especially with tight end Mark Andrews still in the fold for next year and beyond.
Hopkins, who will turn 34 in June, noted he would have preferred a larger role in the Ravens’ offense (a unit which dealt with quarterback injuries for much of the year). Nevertheless, he would be amenable to another season working with Lamar Jackson and thus enjoying a degree of stability at the QB spot. Since the end of his Texans tenure, Hopkins has worked with several signal-callers during time with the Cardinals, Titans and Chiefs which preceded his Ravens stint.
Expectations will be tempered in this case given Hopkins’ age and drop-off in production relative to his best seasons. Still, he could offer a veteran presence to any receiving room. As the Ravens sort through their list of pending free agents, a decision will soon need to be made on offering a 2026 deal.
Giants, Browns Picking Apart Old Ravens Staff
For new Giants head coach John Harbaugh, having to completely build a new staff for the first time in 18 years was going swimmingly as he cleared out several incumbent staffers and started to import assistant coaches from his old staff in Baltimore. That strategy hit a snag when the Browns hired Harbaugh’s former offensive coordinator Todd Monken to be their new head coach. 
To start, there had been rumors that Harbaugh had wanted Monken to follow him to New York and coordinate his offense led by Jaxson Dart, Cam Skattebo, and Malik Nabers. Not only does Harbaugh now have to go back to the drawing board on hiring an offensive coordinator, but he now also has to fend off his former coordinator for former Ravens staffers that both men might want in their new cities.
The first instance of this saw Monken win out as offensive line coach George Warhop decided to follow Monken to Cleveland. Warhop had only arrived in Baltimore two years ago to serve as an interim OL coach when longtime Ravens OL coach Joe D’Alessandris was hospitalized over the summer. When D’Alessandris unfortunately passed away eight days later, Warhop stepped into the full-time role. Harbaugh had expressed strong interest in bringing Warhop to New York, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz, but ultimately, Monken won the battle for his services.
Shortly after that, Monken named Travis Switzer as his offensive coordinator. Switzer had spent his entire coaching career in Baltimore, joining the team in 2017 as an administrative assistant. He worked his way up the ladder, serving as a performance staff assistant in 2018, then two years as a coaching analyst for the offense, two years as an offensive quality control coach, and three years as run game coordinator. The 33-year-old has now earned his first offensive coordinator opportunity with the Browns.
Monken also worked quickly and is expected to hire former Ravens offensive assistant Danny Breyer, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz, elevating him in the process to the title of pass game coordinator. Per Zenitz, Breyer worked closely with the Ravens’ talented tight ends group anchored by Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely during his three years with the team. He now heads to Cleveland where another talented pair of tight ends — veteran David Njoku and rookie sensation Harold Fannin Jr. — just finished the year with a combined 105 receptions for 1,024 yards and 10 touchdowns.
It may not only be coaches the two staffs are fighting for. We’ve already heard rumors that pending free agent center Tyler Linderbaum is a target of Harbaugh’s. With Likely also expected to hit free agency, he may want to keep working with Breyer in Cleveland. Njoku is also set to become a free agent, so Monken and the Browns may work to bring in a younger veteran who is more accustomed to working in a duo to pair with Fannin.
Harbaugh may have realized that the offense staff could be off limits. Today, it was announced that Chad Hall, who served as New York’s assistant quarterbacks coach in 2025, will stick around but with a new title. Hall is expected to be named wide receivers coach for the team in 2026, per Zenitz. Harbaugh hasn’t given up on picking apart the Ravens’ defensive staff, though. According to Zenitz, Baltimore’s former defensive backs coach, Donald D’Alesio, is set to join the coaching staff in New York. A follow-up report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter tells us D’Alesio will join the Giants as defensive pass game coordinator/secondary coach. He joins running backs coach Willie Taggart, defensive line coach Dennis Johnson, special teams coordinator Chris Horton, and assistant linebacker coach Matt Pees in the Ravens’ migration to New York.
As for Baltimore, new head coach Jesse Minter is working to fill out his first coaching staff, but as he does, he doesn’t have to worry about one aspect. Usually, pursuing a defensive coordinator hire requires an evaluation a coach’s play-calling abilities, but according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, Minter has declared his plans to call the defense as head coach. Zrebiec also relayed that, much like Harbaugh enjoyed in Baltimore and demanded in New York, Minter will report directly to owner Steve Bisciotti, presumably on equal footing with general manager Eric DeCosta. In fact, DeCosta was the one who reported it to the media.
Following the filling of their offensive coordinator position, the Ravens are also looking at interviewing Bills quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry for the same position, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. While there isn’t expected to be much change in Buffalo’s offensive staff after Joe Brady was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach, Curry actually goes back even further with new Ravens OC Declan Doyle. The two spent four years together in New Orleans on staff with the Saints under Sean Payton.
Curry has interviewed for offensive coordinator openings with the Broncos and Jets and could still win either job, so he’s not necessarily locked in right now with Buffalo. Since the move to Baltimore would be a lateral one, Brady and Co. may opt to block him from interviewing, but if he does miss out on an OC position and get the opportunity to interview with the Ravens, it will be interesting to see if Curry gets his pick at choosing between the two most-recent MVP-winners.
Ravens To Hire Declan Doyle As OC
The Ravens are expected to hire Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle for the same position on Jesse Minter‘s new staff in Baltimore, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Doyle, 29, has just seven years of NFL coaching experience and only one season as a coordinator. He previously served as an offensive assistant with the Saints (2019-2022) and a tight ends coach with the Broncos (2023-2024) before joining Ben Johnson in Chicago. He helped Johnson quickly install his offense and played a crucial role in Caleb Williams‘ second-year breakout, both of which contributed to the Bears winning their first playoff game since 2010.
Doyle’s success in those roles – as well as his time under Johnson and Sean Payton – attracted the attention of the Eagles and the Ravens in recent weeks as they look for new offensive coordinators. Though the Bears could block those interviews, they allowed Doyle to speak with other teams. He withdrew from the Eagles’ search, but traveled to Baltimore on Friday to interview with the Ravens. That meeting clearly went well, as the two sides quickly reached an agreement for Doyle to join Minter’s staff.
In Baltimore, Doyle will get to work rebuilding the Ravens offense around Lamar Jackson after a disappointing 2025 season. The unit regressed significantly from their elite numbers in 2023 and 2024 and finished 11th in points and 16th in yards. A number of injuries to Jackson played a role, though they were also symptomatic of bigger issues. The offensive line could not consistently keep Jackson clean in the pocket or open up holes at the line of scrimmage, and the Ravens went from being one of the league’s best red-zone offenses to one of its worst.
The Bears were confident that Doyle would remain in Chicago after he withdrew his name from the Eagles’ search, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. However, the opportunity to work under Minter and call plays Jackson on a Ravens team that is expected to return to championship contention in 2026 was too much to turn down. Johnson will now have to find a new offensive coordinator heading into his second season as a head coach, and he will not be able to offer play-calling duties to entice candidates with interest from other teams.
The Ravens, meanwhile, will now work with Doyle to build out the rest of his offensive staff. They have already made key hires to coach their offensive line, but former coaches John Harbaugh and Todd Monken have been poaching assistants from their previous staff in Baltimore. With Doyle hired, the Ravens will be able to make decisions on the rest of their incumbent coaches, including important figures like quarterbacks coach Tee Martin.
Here is an overview of Baltimore’s now-completed offensive coordinator search:
- Joe Brady, offensive coordinator (Bills): Mentioned as candidate
- Declan Doyle, offensive coordinator (Bears): Hire expected
- Kliff Kingsbury, former offensive coordinator (Commanders): Interviewed 1/12
- Mike McDaniel, former head coach (Dolphins): Mentioned as candidate
- Scottie Montgomery, wide receivers coach (Lions): To interview
- Davis Webb, quarterbacks coach (Broncos): Interview requested
Browns To Hire Travis Switzer As OC
Newly named Browns head coach Todd Monken is set to hire Ravens run game coordinator Travis Switzer as his offensive coordinator, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 reports. The hiring will become official once the Browns satisfy the Rooney Rule, according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com.
As the Ravens’ offensive coordinator from 2023-25, Monken spent the past three years working with Switzer, a coach in Baltimore since 2017.
‘Travis was Todd Monken’s right-hand man,” a source told Wilson. “He’s a very, very smart, excellent coach.”
Between his hiring as an administrative assistant-performance and his promotion to run game coordinator in 2024, Switzer held several different positions on ex-Ravens head coach John Harbaugh‘s staff.
The Ravens boasted an elite running game in two seasons under Switzer, who coached an uber-talented attack led by Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson. The team led the league in rushing in 2024. Henry was 79 yards short of 2,000, while Jackson fell 85 shy of his third 1,000-plus campaign.
Although Henry wasn’t quite as otherworldly in 2025, he still amassed 1,595 yards on 5.2 per carry. Injuries limited Jackson to 13 games, depriving the Ravens of half of their two-headed monster for a sizable chunk of the year. However, No. 2 running back Keaton Mitchell helped pick up the slack in averaging an excellent 5.8 yards per attempt on 59 tries. With Henry, Jackson and Mitchell all putting up over 5.0 yards a carry, the Ravens finished first in YPC and second in ground yardage.
It’s unknown if Monken or Switzer will call the plays in Cleveland, but turning around its offense will be a tall order. The Browns are coming off a season in which they ranked 30th or worse in total yards, passing and scoring, which undermined a high-end defensive performance during a 5-12 campaign.
Looking ahead to 2026, the Browns don’t have an obvious answer at quarterback among Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and Deshaun Watson. All three could compete for the job during the summer, though that may depend on whether the Browns make outside additions at the position during the offseason.
Cleveland’s sure to address other offensive issues, including a lack of weapons beyond tight end Harold Fannin, running back Quinshon Judkins and receiver Jerry Jeudy. More importantly, though, the Browns’ line may be in for a major overhaul. Guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller, tackles Cam Robinson and Jack Conklin, and center Ethan Pocic (coming off a late-season Achilles tear) are all slated to reach free agency. As a former offensive lineman at Akron, Switzer may have input in making over the Browns’ front five.
Cowboys Nearing Zach Orr Hire
Zach Orr was not hired as the Cowboys‘ new defensive coordinator. He could nevertheless soon find himself on Dallas’ coaching staff. 
After two years as the defensive coordinator of the Ravens, Orr is a candidate to depart the team. Since head coach John Harbaugh was fired, he has received interest in other DC gigs. Orr interviewed with the Cowboys and Chargers for their respective openings.
Both teams ultimately went in a different direction, but Dallas remains interested. Orr is “in line” to join Brian Schottenheimer‘s staff, Clarence Hill Jr. of All City DLLS reports. An “elevated” linebackers coach role is expected in this case, per Hill. Orr played as a middle linebacker and coached that position for two years in Baltimore prior to being promoted to defensive coordinator.
Orr’s unit did not meet expectations during the 2025 season in particular, but he could add value as a position coach. The 33-year-old worked with Schottenheimer in Jacksonville for one season (2021), and Hill notes he has a relationship with new Cowboys DC Christian Parker as well. A Dallas hire would represent a homecoming for Orr, a native of DeSoto, Texas.
The Cowboys struggled in a number of areas during their one season with Matt Eberflus leading their defense. Dallas ranked 23rd against the run in 2025, and improvements at the linebacker position will no doubt be targeted this offseason. Presuming a hire is worked out, Orr will be tasked with playing a key role in Dallas’ efforts to rebound at the second level. A departure would also confirm Baltimore’s need for a new DC under first-time head coach Jesse Minter.
Meanwhile, Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reports the Cowboys are expected to hire Ryan Smith. Smith spent the past three years coaching the Cardinals’ cornerbacks. He has previously done so at the collegiate level, so a similar title with Dallas would come as no surprise.
Ravens Submit Jim Leonhard DC Interview Request
Jim Leonhard remains a popular defensive coordinator candidate in the 2026 cycle. The Ravens are the latest team to seek an interview in his case. 
Baltimore has requested a defensive coordinator interview with Leonhard, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. That makes him the second staffer to receive a slip from the Ravens. Leonhard, who has been on the Broncos’ staff for the past two years, played for the Ravens in 2008.
Shortly after his playing career came to an end, Leonhard turned his attention to coaching. That began with eight years at the college level, including a lengthy run as Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator. The 43-year-old joined Sean Payton‘s staff in Denver in 2024 as a defensive backs coach and pass-game coordinator. This past season, Leonhard took on the role of assistant head coach.
A strong campaign in that capacity has resulted in widespread DC interest. Leonhard has already interviewed with the Cowboys, Chargers and Jets for their D-coordinator positions. All three have since been filled, but Baltimore could represent another opportunity on that front. The Ravens’ defense has been led by Zach Orr for the past two years, but since John Harbaugh‘s firing he has loomed as a candidate to depart. Baltimore has also requested an interview with Joe Cullen as a potential Orr replacement.
In other Ravens staffing news, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports longtime assistant Randy Brown will be staying in place. Brown arrived in Baltimore alongside Harbaugh in 2008 and has been a key figure on special teams ever since. Several staffers either have followed Harbaugh to the Giants or remain a candidate to do so. Brown’s lengthy tenure in Baltimore will nevertheless continue under new head coach Jesse Minter.
Titans To Hire QBs Coach Shea Tierney, OL Coach Carmen Bricillo
New Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has started filling his staff, with multiple of his former Giants assistants set to join him in Tennessee.
Shea Tierney will be the Titans’ next quarterbacks coach, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. He held the same role in New York and spent the previous four years working under Daboll in Buffalo. Tierney was a Bills offensive assistant in 2018 and 2019 before a promotion to assistant quarterbacks coach in 2020. He worked closely with Josh Allen during that time and later coached several different passers in New York, including Jaxson Dart and Daniel Jones.
Tierney will be tasked with developing 2025 No. 1 pick Cam Ward, who had a rough rookie year with little talent around him. He led the league in sacks, sack yardage, and fumbles, and the Titans were a bottom-three team in nearly every offensive category.
Daboll will also be bringing former Giants offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo to Tennessee, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. After rising through the college coaching ranks, he joined the Patriots as an offensive assistant in 2019. He was promoted to co-offensive line coach in 2020 and held the position on his own the following season. Bricillo then followed Josh McDaniels to Las Vegas and served as the Raiders’ offensive line coach for two years before joining Daboll in New York.
Bricillo is a well-respected coach around the league. John Harbaugh‘s decision not to retain him drew some criticism, especially with Harbaugh’s original target for his offensive line coach, George Warhop, set to join Todd Monken in Cleveland. In Tennessee, he will work with recent first-round picks Peter Skoronski and JC Latham, as well as veteran left tackle Dan Moore Jr.
For his new wide receivers coach, Daboll is making an outside hire. Greg Lewis will be leaving Baltimore for Tennesseee after three years on Todd Monken’s offensive staff in the same role, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz. Lewis played a key role in the development of Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers and also oversaw Rashod Bateman‘s breakout 2024 campaign. Before that, he spent six years in Kansas City, working with their running backs and receivers and earning two Super Bowl rings in the process. The Titans will be hoping Lewis can quickly develop young wide receivers Elic Ayomanor, Chimere Dike, and Xavier Restrepo into more reliable targets for Ward.
With Tierney, Bricillo, and Lewis in hand, Daboll seems to building a strong foundation for the Titans’ offense as the franchise enters the Robert Saleh era.
AFC North Notes: Ravens, Bengals, Warhop
Three new staffers are joining Jesse Minter in Baltimore. The Ravens are hiring Dwayne Ledford and Shawn Flaherty from the Falcons along with Mike Mickens from Notre Dame, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec and CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. Ledford will move from Falcons O-line coach to the same position with the Ravens, making the switch after Kevin Stefanski hired Bill Callahan in Atlanta. Ledford joined Arthur Smith‘s Falcons staff in 2021, after a career at the college level, and he has been instrumental in the success of Tyler Allgeier and Bijan Robinson. Ledford was previously Louisville’s OC.
Minter will sign off on the Falcons’ OL staff coming over. Flaherty was in place as Atlanta’s assistant O-line coach from 2023-25, and he will hold the same position in Baltimore. The Falcons ranked in the top 10 in rushing in each of those seasons, though ESPN’s run block win rate metric ranked Atlanta’s front 30th (the Ravens ranked 17th) last season. Mickens spent the past six seasons at Notre Dame, working as the Fighting Irish’s defensive backs coach. He will take the same job in Baltimore, with Minter installing Mickens as his defensive pass-game coordinator. This will be Mickens’ first NFL gig.
Here is the latest from the AFC North:
- The Ravens are also blocking one staffer from leaving. Inside linebackers coach Tyler Santucci will not be allowed to pursue another opportunity, per Zrebiec, as the Ravens will be retaining the former Georgia Tech DC in 2026. The Ravens hired the one-year Yellowjackets DC as their ILBs coach in 2025. While John Harbaugh may have eyed him for a Giants role, his recent hire will be on Minter’s staff.
- Departing Ravens OC Todd Monken landed his first HC job today, accepting the Browns‘ position. He will bring veteran O-line coach George Warhop with him to Cleveland, Schefter tweets. Warhop, 64, has been in coaching since 1983 and has been an NFL staffer since 1996. An O-line coach for eight teams over the past 30 years, Warhop is returning to Cleveland, where he was OL coach from 2009-13. Monken worked with Warhop in Tampa and had him in place as the Ravens’ O-line coach over the past two seasons.
- Trey Hendrickson appears all but certain to leave Cincinnati. The five-year Bengals defensive end staple received a hefty raise in 2025, after the team did not budge on a refusal to offer post-Year 1 salary guarantees, and The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. indicates Hendrickson will almost definitely depart in free agency. It does not appear a franchise tag, which would cost more than $30MM, would be in play for the four-time Pro Bowler coming off just a seven-game season.
- A far better chance exists Dalton Risner will stay in Cincinnati, however. Mutual interest exists for the journeyman guard — who has repeatedly struck out in free agency as the market devalues his work — to stay, Dehner adds. Risner, 30, joined the Bengals just before last season and started 11 games. He played for just $1.34MM in 2025, and neither of his one-year Vikings deals topped $3MM. The ex-Broncos second-rounder will likely be cheap for the Bengals to retain at RG.
- As the rest of the AFC North teams make sweeping staff changes, the Bengals are standing pat after a 6-11 season. Retaining Zac Taylor and de facto GM Duke Tobin, the Bengals are also not making scouting changes, the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway notes. The Bengals have the NFL’s smallest scouting staff, employing just six full-timers. That is a fraction of where most teams’ staffs sit. “Our scouting staff is, in my opinion, the size that it is because I think the collaboration is better at that size,” Tobin said. “We have never lacked for information on a player. There’s never been a player selected that we didn’t have multiple reports and a large background on. It’s not about the volume of information we have.”
- The Bengals’ latest Tanner Hudson contract checks in at one year and $1.35MM, per OverTheCap. This represents another incremental raise for Hudson, who played for $1.26MM in 2025. He will see $50K guaranteed.
Broncos’ Davis Webb Receives Three OC Interview Requests
Following the Broncos’ loss in the AFC Championship this weekend, pass game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Davis Webb became available to interview for head coaching opportunities with the Raiders and Bills. After Buffalo pulled the trigger on promoting offensive coordinator Joe Brady, a few teams reached out hoping Webb might be available to interview for a lesser role. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Eagles, Giants, and Ravens all requested to interview Webb for their open offensive coordinator positions. 
We’ve sees our fair share of meteoric rises in the coaching world, but what Webb has people saying at this point in his career feels unprecedented. A former quarterback, Webb was a third-round pick in 2017 but didn’t make his NFL debut until 2021. He played four snaps that year with the Bills then made his first and only start the next year with the Giants. Those two games were Webb’s only NFL action as a player, but he clearly must’ve seen a better road ahead in coaching, as ESPN’s Jordan Raanan can testify to.
The next season, Webb joined Sean Payton‘s staff in Denver as the quarterbacks coach. Under Payton and Webb, veteran Russell Wilson had a resurgent season in Denver following a rough first year away from the Seahawks. In Webb’s second season coaching, he was handed a first-round rookie quarterback in Bo Nix. In two years, Nix has impressed, averaging a 64.8 completion percentage, 3,853 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 11.5 interceptions. With Webb adding the pass game coordinator title in 2025, the passing offense improved from 20th in yards gained in 2024 to 11th this year.
An impressive early résumé and what must be some serious inside coach speak have made Webb a serious candidate for head coach jobs and offensive coordinator positions. He hasn’t even gotten an opportunity to call plays yet, and all three openings requesting his interview would require him to do just that. With head coaching jobs dwindling, more and more candidates will need to look for lower positions soon, if they’re not already under contract. And, if Webb doesn’t end up landing a head coaching position, one would wonder if he doesn’t end up just staying in Denver to replace recently fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.
John Harbaugh Retains Two Giants Coaches, Hires Two From Ravens Staff
John Harbaugh is about to complete his first week as the Giants’ new head coach, and as promised, he is making some changes in New York.
Outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen and tight ends coach Tim Kelly are the only two members of Brian Daboll‘s staff that will retain their jobs under Harbaugh, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.
Bullen was hired before the 2024 season and served as the team’s interim defensive coordinator for the last four games of the 2025 season. His position group has arguably been the best part of the Giants’ defense over the last two years.
Brian Burns, Azeez Ojulari, and Kayvon Thibodeaux combined for 20 sacks and 32 tackles for loss in 2024; Burns put up 16.5 sacks and 22 tackles for loss on his own this past season. Bullen also put together a decent defensive showing to end the season. His debut was a rough 33-15 loss to the Patriots, but after a Week 14 bye, the Giants allowed only 72 points and forced eight turnovers in their last four games.
Kelly also arrived in New York in 2024. He has not gotten much out of the Giants’ tight ends, though both Theo Johnson and Daniel Bellinger both took a step forward this past season. Kelly’s pre-Giants coaching career is not especially encouraging, either. Harbaugh may have preferred to hire George Godsey, his former tight ends coach in Baltimore, but Godsey already took a job as Georgia Tech’s offensive coordinator.
Harbaugh will be bringing other members of his previous staff to New York. The Ravens initially blocked a lateral move for special teams coordinator Chris Horton, but reversed course after hiring Jesse Minter. They are also letting running backs coach Willie Taggart follow Harbaugh, per Ian O’Connor of The Athletic.
Taggart’s role with the Giants is not yet known. He interviewed for the offensive coordinator job, but that is still expected to go to Harbaugh’s most recent OC in Baltimore, Todd Monken. Monken is still a candidate for the Browns’ head coaching job, but if he does not get it, he will immediately join Harbaugh’s staff in New York, according to SNY’s Connor Hughes.
Monken completing the expected Maryland-to-New York trek would only leave Taggart available for a lateral move, which the Ravens would have to permit. Given that Taggart’s hiring was reported before the Giants made their OC hire – and after Minter was hired – Baltimore seems to have allowed him to leave.
The same appears to be true of defensive line coach Dennis Johnson, who is also among Harbaugh’s initial hires, per KRPC2’s Aaron Wilson. He spent the last two years in Baltimore and played a key role in developing Travis Jones, though he could not get enough out of the rest of the unit in 2025 after Nnamdi Madubuike‘s season-ending injury. News of Johnson’s move to New York also came after the Ravens officially brought Minter aboard, indicating that he wanted to go in a different direction at the position.
Harbaugh could also be considering a much bigger reunion with a former Ravens coach: Rex Ryan.
“I’m not ruling anything out,” Harbaugh said on WFAN after being asked about hiring his former defensive coordinator (via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio). “A guy like Rex, he’s around the game, he knows the game. He’s going to have to get updated a little bit with some of the scheme stuff, but I’ll tell you, no one calls a better game than Rex Ryan.”
Bringing the former Jets and Bills head coach back to the NFL would be a major swing on Harbaugh’s part, especially if he hired him as the Giants’ defensive coordinator. That job would come with play-calling duties, a tall task after a decade away from coaching.
Still, Ryan has interviewed for jobs in each of the last three hiring cycles. He was a finalist for the Broncos’ DC gig in 2023, interviewed for the same job with the Cowboys in 2024, and managed to insert himself in the Jets’ head coach search last offseason. He no doubt would jump at the opportunity to return to the league, especially under a former longtime colleague like Harbaugh.